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Dominus
High Command]] The Dominus, also called the Dominus Armoured Siege Bombard, is a mobile artillery piece deployed by the Astra Militarum. The Dominus is a variant of the Imperial Crassus Armoured Assault Transport that has had its crew transport capacity replaced with a Dominus Heavy Siege Bombard, after which the vehicle gets its name. The Standard Template Construct data for the manufacture of the Crassus, Dominus and Praetor weapon systems were found on the recently re-conquered and re-consecrated Forge World of Zhao-Arkkad. Like the Praetor, Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-priests determined that it would be possible to place the massive, triple-barreled Dominus Heavy Siege Bombard within the chassis of a Crassus to transform it into a potent mobile artillery piece that could be used to provide direct fire support for the Imperial Guard's armoured thrusts. The Dominus' primary weapon is a powerful and somewhat unpredictable triple-barrelled Bombard Cannon that fires in an automated sequence and pushes the durability of the Crassus' armoured hull to its very limits. The Dominus, much like the ancient Minotaur heavy mobile artillery piece, is not used for slow and grinding bombardments of fixed fortifications but for direct fire support during armoured assaults. The Dominus is heavily protected enough by armour plating to accompany an armoured spearhead directly into the face of the enemy, providing artillery support against enemy strong-points and fortifications where the more common but less durable mobile artillery pieces like the Basilisk and Medusa would not survive. The Dominus is capable of unleashing rapid saturation bombing of an enemy position before the main attack, and can continue firing even while on the move, alongside the main attack force. Unfortunately, due to this role on the frontlines, Dominus tank crews suffer from unusually high casualty rates, and many Imperial Guardsmen see being assigned to a Dominus crew as a death sentence. As a result, the Dominus has earned the nick-name the "Iron Tomb" among those Imperial Guard regiments that deploy them. Many Dominus crews adorn their vehicle with mortuary or religious insignia, and trust in their faith in the God-Emperor to protect them from the ever-present touch of death. Armament The Dominus is named after the main weapon system it carries, the Dominus Heavy Siege Bombard. The Dominus Bombard is a battery of three Bombard Cannons that fire in an automated sequence and can pulverize anything caught within its field of fire. The size of the weapon unfortunately limits the amount of ammunition it can carry. The Dominus, like its variants the Crassus and the Praetor, is armed with 2 front-mounted Heavy Bolters, which can be replaced with either Heavy Flamers, Autocannons, or Lascannons. The Dominus can also be equipped with a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher, a Pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber or Storm Bolter, and a Dozer Blade. Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications The technical specifications of this vehicle have yet to be released for public consumption by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Also See *Imperial Guard Vehicles Sources *''Imperial Armour Apocalypse (Second Edition), pg. 13 *''Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard (Second Edition), pp. 129-130, 267 es:Crassus Category:D Category:Imperial Guard Category:Imperial Vehicles Category:Vehicles Category:Imperium Category:Imperial Heavy Tanks Category:Artillery